Haiden Allsopp
With International Women’s Day (IWD) just behind us, and the recent release of Louis Theroux’s ‘Inside the Manosphere’, which critiques influencers who promote misogynistic ideals, it is increasingly important to reflect on the history of International Women’s Day. These growing misogynistic spaces on social media and the commercialisation of IWD reflect the efforts which are still needed to close the gender gap in the UK, and on a global scale. So, what should we be doing, and how can we continue the efforts of countless women throughout history to ensure gender equality?
International Women’s Day has historically been associated with the end of February and the beginning of March and is celebrated on the 8th of March. The 2026 International Women’s Day theme, as set by the United Nations, was ‘Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls’. It aims to highlight the issues of gender inequality across the globe and encourages people to take action to support women and to accelerate the closure of the gender gap. IWD remains crucial for addressing the barriers which women face to education, healthcare, safety and justice in comparison to men. As of 2025, the global gender gap score was only 68.8% closed and remained less than 50% closed in certain countries, particularly in regard to political empowerment. The fight for global equality is ongoing, and International Women’s Day has played a significant role.
The earliest recorded Women’s Day protests took place in New York on the 28th of February 1909, followed by the first International Women’s Day protests across Europe, on the 8th of March, 1911. This protest involved hundreds of demonstrations and over 1 million people across Germany, Austria-Hungary, Denmark and Switzerland, who were protesting for women’s suffrage. The latter 1917 protests in Petrograd, Russia, on the 8th of March saw women from textile factories across Petrograd protesting for their rights, demanding ‘Bread!’ and ‘Dignity!’ in retaliation to food shortages, rising costs and unfair labour. What began as a city-wide protest for women’s rights, sparked protests across the country and the beginnings of the Russian Revolution. Russia became the first country to recognise IWD as a national holiday in 1922, and it was later adopted by the UN in 1975.
This obscures the real intentions of the day, preventing genuine change and allowing companies to profit from it
The decision to celebrate International Women’s Day on the 8th of March is closely linked to these first international protests. The efforts of working-class women in the fight for suffrage should not be ignored, and the historical roots of International Women’s Day are vital to understanding initiatives in the present day, yet so many of us are unaware of its historical importance. Instead of real action or education about its history, we see exclusive perks for women, such as free drinks and club entries, promotional codes to receive discounts from companies and floods of performative social media posts, which claim to celebrate women’s achievements. These actions offer no real support for women and certainly don’t have any long-term benefits for individuals or for IWD. This obscures the real intentions of the day, preventing genuine change and allowing companies to profit from it.
Although International Women’s Day is a day for global activism and community, it seems that many companies have chosen to use the day as a marketing campaign. One of the companies which has recently been criticised for its complacency in this is the IWD website, a UK-based company which is closely associated with the day. The website offers packages, including balloons, wristbands and banners, for companies to purchase to support their efforts in International Women’s Day, as well as accepting donations to fund women’s rights organisations and organising speeches. The 2026 theme for International Women’s Day, ‘give to gain’, as set by the IWD website, claims that it aims to encourage a mindset of collaboration and support to promote advancements in gender equality, but many people feel that the company does not positively contribute to the day.
An article published by The Guardian regarding the IWD website states that more than 900 people have signed an open letter, requesting that the company contribute something meaningful to the day, rather than the banners and balloons which you can purchase in their packages. But what does a meaningful contribution to the cause look like?
In the UK, women are 50% more likely to work in lower paying jobs than men
Global efforts to support women and girls have been a cornerstone of international development for decades. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goal 5, aim to achieve gender equality by 2030, but we are not currently on track to meet this. In the UK, government spending to assist funding for education and gender equality initiatives in developing countries was reduced to its lowest since 1999. Other major donors, including the US, Germany and France, have also reduced their spending, which has significantly impacted many women’s rights and women-led organisations. While there are a variety of rational reasons for government budget cuts, it cannot be denied that by reducing funding to these organisations, the lives and rights of women globally are at risk.
While the withdrawal of global funding may highlight a challenging period for gender equality, the solutions lie in strengthening frameworks closer to home. In the UK, women are 50% more likely to work in lower- paying jobs than men and are more likely to remain in these jobs for longer periods of time. To reduce the gender gap in the workplace, we need to move away from the ‘pink-washing’ of International Women’s Day and hold companies accountable for transparency in pay gaps and leadership demographics. The path to gender equality also requires educational shifts which embed gender equality and the history of IWD into the curriculum, to combat the influence of misogynistic thought. Although some of these changes are already being implemented, with aims to reduce the limiting attitudes to gender through education, a greater focus on real political action has the ability to generate further change for women and girls across the country.
In the face of these challenges, it is important to remember the power of ordinary individuals to incite change. Engaging with International Women’s Day in any accessible format can help to further the cause, whether that means making small donations to grassroots charities or simply opening up conversations about gender equality, rather than celebrating achievements through performative social media posts and exclusive discounts.
Progress is not always linear, and the fight for equality is not a simple task
International Women’s Day, global justice for women, and the fight for ‘Peace and Bread’, should always be more important than the profit of individuals or companies. We should continue to celebrate the achievements of women whilst acknowledging the contributions that need to be made to ensure global gender equality. Progress is not always linear, and the fight for equality is not a simple task.
Haiden Allsopp
Featured image courtesy of Hannah Rowson via Haiden Allsopp and used with their approval. No changes were made to this image.
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